It’s only October, but the holiday season is already kicking into high gear. If the retail stores are any indication, it’s time to start planning for the holidays, regardless of which one you celebrate. Much like holiday planning, it’s never too early to start building your organization’s mobility strategy.

It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about employees at your organization or customers at your venue.

Everyone is bringing their own device.

The influx of smartphones and tablets into the workplace is serious business. Apple, Samsung, and Google are duking it out for our affections these days. But it’s not just about reacting to “Bring your own device” (BYOD) trends in the office, or providing free Wi-Fi for your customers. Your employees and customers expect more robust mobile experiences, so you need a clear mobility strategy to stay ahead of their demands.

“’Tis the season” as they say. Soon you will hear the count- down of how many shopping days left until Christmas. Like it or not, the biggest retail shopping day of the year takes place the Friday after Thanksgiving. But, what I really get excited about is Cyber Monday. I don’t know about you, but I plan to do the majority of my shopping online. I am not new to online shopping of course. I have been using it out of necessity as a working mother without an abundance of extra time and will continue to use it for a variety of reasons including…

I don’t have to beat the crowds for those BIG sales, I can compare prices instantly on a single site, I usually can finagle free shipping by using coupon codes or just taking advantage of holiday incentives, and I can get my shopping done in a matter of minutes versus the hours I would have spent had I actually gone to the store.

I will say that the shopping experiences I have had to date have been pretty good. But, they could still improve. For example, there have been several occasions where I have had questions about an electronics product (like a computer) and wanted to ask someone who really understood the features of the product. I wanted to have that real-time experience where I could have a back and forth conversation with a “human.” I don’t want to just look at the picture of the computer and guess by the description whether or not it was the right purchase to make. Another time I was ordering a chair for my home office online and wanted to make sure I had the right style and color to match my room. So I called the support line and had to describe my room, desk dimensions, and wall color etc. In the end, Read More »

This holiday shopping season, brick-and-mortar stores are out to match e-commerce sites with the latest and deepest discounts, and even encourage in-store shoppers to buy online. About 85% of online retailers will offer special promotions on Monday when people return to work. And now there’s an entire web site to check out all the deals called cybermonday.com.

For the first time in fact, more of us will go online than will go to stores to do get our gifts — 52% of shoppers are expected to use the Web, tablets or smartphones to buy presents. A mobile device may be more important to bring Christmas shopping than your wallet.

Mobile shopping

Sales made on a mobile device will be 21% of all online holiday sales this year, according to the Adobe Digital Index 2012 Online Shopping Forecast. Two-thirds of those sales will be made on tablets, and the other third on smartphones. Phones more than tablets are used to research prices and find store locations and sales, and tablets to make a purchase.

And as retailers encourage shoppers to use multiple channels, more mobile sales are being made at the actual store. Walk into Best Buy with a smartphone, scan a QR code, and it takes you to the Best Buy web site. If you see it cheaper online, they’ll match that price in store. Or …buy something online and pick it up at a store near you — that same day. This saves you shipping costs and gets you that holiday rush of being with the crowds.Read More »

Some of the individuals posting to this site, including the moderators, work for Cisco Systems. Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of Cisco. The content is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be an endorsement or representation by Cisco or any other party. This site is available to the public. No information you consider confidential should be posted to this site. By posting you agree to be solely responsible for the content of all information you contribute, link to, or otherwise upload to the Website and release Cisco from any liability related to your use of the Website. You also grant to Cisco a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free and fully-paid, transferable (including rights to sublicense) right to exercise all copyright, publicity, and moral rights with respect to any original content you provide. The comments are moderated. Comments will appear as soon as they are approved by the moderator.